Ski Stabilizing Flange

ABSTRACT

One embodiment of a stabilizing flange for a skate ski comprised of a thin metal plate attached to the inner side of each ski directly beneath the skier&#39;s boot with a portion of said plate protruding past the bottom of said ski into the snow beneath. The sharpened leading and bottom edges of said plate offer negligible resistance to forward motion of the ski whereas the broad side of said plate resists lateral motion, thus stabilizing the ski, especially on icy snow.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61621486, filed 7 Apr. 2012 by the present inventor.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

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SEQUENCE LISTING

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BACKGROUND

Recent decades have seen the increasing popularity of skate skiing. Skate skiing is a subclass of cross-country skiing in which the skier propels himself forward by transferring his weight alternately from ski to ski in the same manner an ice skater propels himself by transferring his weight from skate to skate. Generally a groomed track is necessary for this type of skiing because a compacted base of snow with a thin surface layer of looser snow is required. The groomed surface is often referred to as “corduroy” because its parallel ridges resemble the fabric. The function of the corduroy ridges is to provide resistance to the ski edge so as to minimize lateral ski motion (slippage.) Skate skiers want their skis to glide smoothly in the direction the ski points. They do not want them to slip laterally. Freshly groomed snow is soft enough to allow the ski edge to push against the snow and thus propel the skier forward but once this corduroy surface snow has been eroded by other skiers or has thawed and refrozen, skis tend to slip sideways depriving the skier of propulsion and/or balance.

This ski stabilizing flange (SSF) reduces this undesirable lateral slippage while at the same time offering minimal resistance to forward motion. The SSF works in the same way a sailboat's keel or centerboard reduces a boat's lateral motion (drift) through the water while at the same time offering minimal resistance to forward motion. The SSF's broad side resists lateral motion while its thin leading edge allows forward motion.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,978 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,487 describe flanges for snowmobile steering skis that work on the same principle as this flange which, as mentioned above, is the age-old principle of the sailboat centerboard. These designs are not suitable for skate skis because of their weight (relatively heavy), forward-glide resistance due to their thickness, and method of attachment (bolts through the top of the ski where the binding is).

The SSF here described is suitable for skate skis because 1) SSF weighs only a few ounces and thus will not encumber the skier, 2) offers negligible forward-glide resistance because of SSF's small cross-sectional area and 3) SSF attaches to the side of each ski's inside edge directly under the skier's boot which is the part of the ski on which the most force is applied and hence, is the location where SSF will most effectively prevent lateral slippage.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the central section of a ski with the SSF attached. This view would be of a ski worn on the right foot with the front of the ski to the drawing's left. The SSF is attached to the inside edge of the ski directly beneath where the boot rests. The SSF is attached to the side of the ski with three machine screws that thread into sockets that are permanently embedded in the side of the ski.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the ski and SSF with the SSF attached to the right side.

FIG. 3 shows the entire ski with the SSF attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of the SSF is a piece of 0.032 stainless steel (full-hard type 301) measuring approximately five inches long and 1.5 inches high. It is rectangular with the leading edge clipped at a 45-degree angle. The bottom edge and the leading edge are sharpened to cut through icy snow with less resistance.

The SSF is attached to the ski by three machine screws of suitable length which thread into sleeves that are permanently embedded in the side of the ski. SSFs of different sizes for different snow conditions can thus be added or removed from the ski. Removal of the SSF facilitates shipping and waxing.

Although the description above contains specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiment but as merely providing an illustration of one embodiment. The SSF can be of various lengths and depths depending on snow conditions and made of various gauges and types of metal. It can be attached to the ski in various ways.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

1. Ski Stabilizing Flange

2. embedded sleeve

3. section of ski

OPERATION

No special technique is required to ski with the SSF. The skier propels himself and turns in the usual way. The SSF is designed to lessen lateral slippage which commonly occurs on icy or “crusty” snow when the skier is propelling himself forward (skating), turning, or slowing down in a “snow plow” configuration. The enhanced lateral stability provided by the SSF also makes it easier for a skier who is coasting (not skating) to keep his skies under control. 

I claim:
 1. A stabilizing flange for a skate ski, comprising: a thin metal plate with a sharpened leading edge and sharpened bottom edge that is attached to the inner side (the side facing the opposite ski) of each ski directly beneath the skier's boot with a portion of said plate protruding past the bottom of said ski into the snow beneath, whereby said portion of said plate offers resistance to lateral motion of said ski and thereby increases the skier's stability while offering negligible resistance to the forward motion of said ski 